Western Europe is the region of Europe that includes many countries, a few of which are Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom (Pennsylvania State University, 2017). A recent issue that has risen to the forefront within western Europe is the issue of overtourism and how these counties and the entire region has managed this issue.
An article from CNBC explains that overtourism is “a phenomenon that is disrupting communities, imperiling cherished buildings and harming the experience of travelers and local residents alike” (Pylas, 2017). With so many people visiting specific locations within western Europe at the same time, problems have become obvious and inevitable. Overtourism has become increasingly worrisome within the region of western Europe. It has led to Venice diverting massive cruise liners from porting there, and Barcelona to more closely monitor apartment rentals. The problem of overtourism has even led to slogans showing up such as “tourists go home” and “tourists are terrorists” (Pylas, 2017).
Taleb Rifai, the secretary general of the United Nations’ World Tourism Organization stated that the recent slogans are a wakeup call (Pylas, 2017). The question now, however, is how to manage the problem of overtourism. Tourism cannot be viewed as an overall negative aspect in western Europe because of the benefits it brings to the economy. An article from Eurostat (2017), states, “In 2014, one in ten enterprises in the European non-financial business economy belonged to the tourism industries. These 2.3 million enterprises employed an estimated 12.3 million persons.” By comparing the many benefits that tourism brings to western Europe’s economy with the problems arising due to overtourism, the question now is how to properly manage the tourism in the region.
Taleb Rifai explains that “what is required…is the need to manage tourism in a ‘sustainable and responsible’ way that benefits local communities” (Pylas, 2017). While this does seem like the best solution available, the question remains of how exactly this can be achieved for western European tourist destinations. There are many destinations, and the solution will not look the same for the different cities and various tourist locations. I think that it will be important for western Europe to have some sort of overarching policies in place to address the problems associated with overtourism, but that ultimately the solutions will be best achieved by working on more local levels. For instance, the frequent tourist destinations in Italy will have to employ different solutions than the frequent tourist locations in Spain for the problem of overtourism to be managed the most efficiently.
References:
Pennsylvania State University. (2017). OLEAD 410: “Lesson 12: Western Europe.” Retrieved from: https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1867265/modules/items/22824786
Pylas, P., & Press, A. (2017, November 15). Managing overtourism an increasing feature of global travel. Retrieved November 15, 2017, from https://www.cnbc.com/2017/11/15/the-associated-press-managing-overtourism-an-increasing-feature-of-global-travel.html
Tourism statistics. (2017, April). Retrieved November 15, 2017, from http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Tourism_statistics
Monica L Knauss says
Hello Marci – your post raised a very interesting issue that I had not previously considered. As global travel becomes more accessible and economically feasible, new destinations become attractive to a society that is always looking for the latest and greatest. I can envision situations where tourists convey an air of entitlement that would not only be offensive to local citizens, but also detrimental to the community. Certainly provides food for thought!
Allison L Ernst says
Marci- I really enjoyed your post and the information you provided. It never occurred to me there was such a thing as over-tourism! Most tourism countries depend on tourism for their existence and logic would dictate, the more the better. After reading your post, it made me reflect on a trip to Mexico my husband and I took on vacation. We visited Mayan ruins that had stairs you used to be able to climb and were roped off. I found out later when my Dad told me he had climbed those stairs when he visited. The reason was because the tourists climbing them were causing them to deteriorate. Your post will make me consider where to visit in the future and where to avoid..